Keep Your Employee Recruiting Process Moving in the Right Direction
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 5:04PM
Walking your dog should be an enjoyable activity that bonds a pet and an owner. Well, you have not met my dog, Sergeant. When Sergeant decides he wants to do something or go somewhere, there is not a lot anyone can do to stop him. You see, Sergeant is a Great Dane that weighs about 15O pounds and can pull anything. This is great for pulling kids on roller blades, rip sticks, or skate boards. However, if he ever wants to go in a direction that you don’t want to go, it can be a real problem. Not too long ago I remember one of my kids attaching Sergeant’s leash to their bicycle just prior to getting on and riding with him down a walking path. Suddenly, out of the bushes a small rabbit runs in the opposite direction. Still etched in my mind is the odd image of a bicycle effortlessly tumbling down a walking path just behind a huge dog chasing a small brown rabbit. The faces of the walkers were priceless. They were diving off the path to the left and to the right. It was quite a spectacle.
Employee recruiting can work in a similar way. Like Sergeant, you can find a candidate with an impressive stature (great experience and great potential), but you need to make sure they understand the direction of the position. Arming yourself with the right candidate interview questions will help you determine whether or not their abilities and skills will be used in the proper way and will flow in the proper direction.
Tip: Early in the interview, have the candidate describe “the perfect position” in their own words. During that description note any and all items that match up to the offerings of the job for which they are applying. After a brief discussion on their ideal job, point the conversation toward their understanding of this job. Find out their original attraction to the role as well as any reservations or hesitations.
Caution: Execute this exercise before you tell them all about the role. If you tell them everything about the job and then go through this exercise, odds are you will be fed the same information you shared.
I'd love to know your thoughts on this topic. Please post your comments below.
Reader Comments (2)
Hopefully, the candidate has done his homework about the position he's interviewing for! You also bring an important element into questions- How much homework did they REALLY do on our company and the position when they came in for the interview. Great insight... Sergeant is 150lbs?!
That is true. The amount of homework is a good indicator of interest in the job and desire for the job. Yes, Sergeant is really 150lbs. in fact he may be a bit more now, he has just turned 3 years old. His father was around 185lbs. For perspective, that is an over sized pillow he is laying his head on.